Process and apparatus for sterilizing milk and other organic liquids.



J. DESMAROUX.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR STBRILIZING MILK AND OTHER ORGANIC LIQUIDS.

- APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 26, 1908.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

WITNESS/55y G; W

grjvfidk j Adorwyi,

M L I masse 1 i PATENT OFFIGE.

JOSEPH nssmaaoux, or rams, mama.

Specification of Letters Patent. PatentedlA g-l Application filedfiaroh, 26,1908. Serial No. 423,419. I 11 TOT-all whomc'tmagboncmr Be *it known thatfI, J osEPnYDEsMARoUx, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing in Paris; France,= have 'inventediia certain new and usefulProcess and Apparatus for SterilizingMilk and other OrganicLiquids, of which thefollowing isaspecification; The present invention aims to" sterilize milk and other or anic liquidsin'such away astocompletel'y or other germs, without =alterin the taste,

color, "appearance and properties of .the liquid;

The process cludes'the following three successive opera:

'tions i lnThe mil-kfis finely subdivided and brought into the presenceof an active gas, such asoxyge'n or ozomzed air, which comes in contact with "all the particles of the sub:

.divided milk, thus' preparing for the final I I sterilization ofthe' milk and rendering it i much easier. 1 1 By a this operation" the milk becomes very" sensitive 'andflvery permeable by the heat, which is the final agentfem- =ployedinvthesterilization; a

- have been previously in solutio'n in themilk. This withdrawal-f the gases takes place at 2.: The "milk thus prepared is then freed from the gas remaining in it, not only from the active gasemployed in thefirstoperation-,-b,ut also "Ofiany other as which may atemperature about 15 to 30 0., under the action of a vacuum, the pressure being reduced to about 10 millimeters ofmercury. 1 This operatiomis continued to the where a small quantity ofthe liquid is re-. moved by distillation or'evaporation so as tog show that the milk has been freed of all;

gases and-volatile products which were in it.{ It isalso important that the milk to be sterilizedby heatin the third step of the operation explained below, shall contain no trace Y of gaswhich mighfiunderthe action of heat andchemical con-.

oint

seriously modify th'e taste 3. The milk'prepared as u is then sterilized byheating. The heating takes place while the millr is maintained out.

of contact with any air or gas whatever;

Nevertheless the circulation of the milk in ee "thein' from pathogenic in its most specific forminother organic liquids) 'is specifically dis-- processes, in that the milk is heated to a temperature I flow of the milkby -reason'of the difference of pressure. But the fluid pressuretrans-I mitted' to the milk in the direction of its movement, is 'exerted throu htlie internie irnocnss ANlS harnesses roitfsrnmnrzme MILK an!) 0mm ass-am mourns. V

j of the body sucha 'vacuum as to efiect the diation of a membranewhichiollowsfthe 1 surface of the inilkyintroduced into a ,s'uit able reservoir so that the compressedfliiid, gaseous or otherwise, cannot mix with the f milk and become dissolved therein. Under these conditions'the temperature may be."

raised to 110 tol20 0., which is necessary 1 to obtain a complete sterilization." v

This process of sterilization of milk (or of ting'uished therefore from known in contact with themilk under treatment,

1 the milk having been, before heating brought to as fine a state of divisionas'prac ticable, and submitted tothe action of an active gas to prepare it for the'sterilization,

and the operation of sterilization being: 'ef

fected however on milk absolutely free.

commences in a vacuum, but distillation being stopped only whena little of the liquid ;is vaporized and condensed.

The following description, with reference to the annexed drawing, will explain the means of realizing the process above do scribed.

plete apparatus; Fig. 2 is a section of the vessel-G at right anglesto thesection there;-

of shown in Fig. 1.

The milk subjected to the first opera-b itlOIl, the treatment in a fine state of division,

by an active gas in the elevated receptacle 0, which carries near its" upper end a per-f forated disk a upon which the milk to'be' f treated is admitted by a tube 2' under the ac v above explained tion of a vacuum which is produced through a tube with a valve 0. The tube'iconnects" at itslowerend with a measuring receptacle B, which is filled with milk from areceptaf ofrr any gas whatever, because "such gases have been removedto'the point where distillation Figure 1 is a schematic viewofthe com ole A having a cock w. The milk drawn through the tube :5 spreads over the Sal-rate of the disk a and falls in line drops through the perforations of this disk into the s ace below; Whilethe milk is falling unsung state of perfect division through the receptacle C, it is subjected to the action of an active gas, oxygen or ozonized air, which is admitted'through a tube having a cock I). The milk then runs by way of a' tube provided with a cock 6 to the receptacle D.

, It is in the receptacle D that the milk is freed from gas. It is also in this rece tacle that a pressure'is .exerted on the sur'ace of the liquid to efiect its circulation in the apparatus for sterilizing by'heat. The re- 'ceptacle D has within it a flexible extensible membrane is of accordion type, the edge of the upper rim being fixed 'to the inner wall 1 of the receptacle D, A coiled spring 2" is 1 fixed at oneend atthe center of the.sa1d membrane, and at the other end to the upper end of the receptacle D. A tubehaving acock 1 serves for the admission. of a fluid commun1cate w1th each other, and which 7 communicate respectively with .the two chambers D and D, which are separated by the of the condensation'applaratus E through a tube having a valve p t erein, at a low temperature (15 to 0.), and the operation is pushed so far that there is condensedan 40 the apparatus E a little of the liquid, showing t e vaporization of the milk contained in D. The condenser is of the ordinary tubular type, the gas being condensed in the tubes by a cooling liquid circulating about 5 the tubes. This'assures certainly that theretgas 1s-' tillation' which condenses in the apparatus; E are collected in the following way :-Thef shall no longer remain in the milk any or volatileparticles'. The product-s of condenser E communicates at its lower end through a conduit provided with a valve d with a small reservoir g provided with a needle valve m and with a draw-ofi cock a. The liquid being collectedin g after the 0 cning of the valve d, the valve d is then c osed and m and n are then opened and the condensed liquid runs out into a vessel 8. When this takes place the valve j in the lower end of the tube 0 is opened and fluid ressure is exerted by openin the valve vf eading into the receptacle Thus the milk is made to circulate in. the apparatus for sterilizing by heat. The membrane k, of rubber or other suitable material, is pressed downward in the receptacle D, remaining under pressure. Two conduits g it Which in cont-act with the liquid, so that the latter finds itself submitted on one side to the pressure necessary to roduce the circulation of the liquid durlng heating, without being able to'produce any phenomenon of ebullition.v This renders the operation absolutely harmless, so that there is no alteration of the milk or modification of its chemical composition. When the membrane la, which serves to isolate the milk from the compressed fluid by whichit is circulated, reac es the bottom of. the receptacle D and expels practically all of themilk under constant pressure, the compressing fluid is stopped and withdrawn, the spring 7' again lifts the membrane 7a,.and the receptacle D can receive a new chargeof liquid.

The sterilization apparatus may beof-any knownor suitable type. In the drawing it is supposed to be composed of a heater H and a temperatureinterchanging apparatus G. The latter is composed substantially of vertical boxes formed of frames G separated by plates G the whole held together v by ties 'u. The boxes G" G? formed by the frames of the plates, communicate in pairs 7 through small tubes with the outer boxes y at top and bottom, so that there is a circulation of the colder milk in one direction and the warmer milk in the opposite direction, with only thin walls between the two streams, so as to permit an interchange of heat between the two streams. The lower one of the outer boxes, y, is connected to the I out of the heater passes tive passages in the .interchanger G1 to the box to, and thence through the tube 0. to the bottling apparatus. The two streams passing through the interchanger G with only the plates Gr between them, partly exchange their temperatures, so that the incoming milk is warmed and the outgoing milk cooled.- I v The heater H is composed of tubes in two i groups connected respectively to the tubes 1 a and a, and each group communicating with the-other atthe'opposite end of the heater, so as to provide for circulating the milk and heating the same, the heating tubes being in a closed receptacle for hot water or other heating medium. After sterilization and cooling in the interchanger G, the milk passes to the bottling apparatus I. r

What I claim. is r 1. The sub-process in the sterilizing of an organic liquid, which consists inrfirst treating it with an active gas and then removing all volatile matter held in solution in such liquid by means of a vacuum and at a low temperature, carrying the operation to the point of vaporization of a small quantity of the liquid.

2. An apparatus for use in'sterilizing an organic liquid, comprising means for finely dividing the liquid and subjecting it to an active gas, means for subjecting the liquid to a vacuum ata low temperature to remove all volatile matter held in solution, and means for finally heating it to between 110 and 120 degrees c'entigrade.

3. An apparatus for sterilizing an or anic liquid comprising means for finely dividing the same, and means for subjecting it in such finely divided state to an active gas, in combination with means for subjecting the liquid to a vacuum at a low temperature to volatilize all matter held in solution therein.

4. An apparatus for sterilizing an organic liquid comprising means for finely divlding the same, and means for subjecting it in such finely divided state to an active gas, in combination with means for subjecting the liquid to a vacuum at a low temperature to volatilize all matter held in solution therein, and means for subjecting it to fluid pressure without contact with the pressure medium and heating it to between 110 and 120 degrees centigrade.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH DESMAROUX.

Witnesses:

H. C. Coxn, GABRIEL BELLIARD. 

